Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-02
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
be Chsrscterizes the Fuss Made AbOnt
the Return of the Flags rs
Tempest IA q Teapot.
A Great Furor Over a Question OF Little
Importancs-Thsir Return Would be
a Sign of Restored Fraternity.

BALTIMORE, MD July The Sun he's
the following letter from Jefferson Davis,
in reference 10 the return Of the southern
battle hlgs: "If the object now be to
unite the people of the north aud south as
brethren in the Union, as & means to
that end, every sign OF past conflict
should, So far as practicable, be obliter-
ated. To retain as g point Of pride Lax
captured in battle by either Union or
Confederate soldiers would be equivalent
Il, 20 renewed triumph by the one or the
other, and surely not 3 step toward the
restoration OF pesCe. Flags captured
from 8 foreign enemy may be retained as
trophies after peace, but there the Cessa-
ton Of lcstlitles is not pretended to be
equivalent 20 fratern.z itioE. have heard
Of various instances IL which southern
sUudiers having retained flags captured
in battle did, after the war, send
them back 10 The organization from
where they were captured, and | have
neard of no instances where such trophies
have been displayed at reunion of south
eru soldiers 10 manifest their success in
battle over their northern brethren. Our
men fought for principle and that they
have not surrendered, but are hopeless
They have lived to see the good sense Of
the northern men revert to the teachings
Of their siTes and the re-establishment Of
the government according to the constitu-
ton on which it was founded. That is
the only victory which would be to them
and tleir children thing TO be priced
and gIorihe5 When the Confederate gov
eminent evacuated Richmond many flags
captured in battle were deposited in the
war Cnics III Richmond. So far es | know
they We're gil left there and
f5Gnd by the Uaited States troops
when they entered the city. This would
ct least have exhibited proof Of the fact
that the south dId not wish to treasure
uU such evidences Of any triumphs it ever
had over the nUr.h. When Washington
received the surrender Of CORVALLIS he
requested the British COiOrs TO be de-
livered 10 him in case the United States
government presented these flags TO Gem
ersl Washington, and he left them to
George Washington Parker Curtis, by
whom they were entrusted to me when |
was Secretary Of War aud left in the WAT
office at Washington Though these were
foreign flags and signs of very mem
CRADLE occasion, the United States gov
ernmenc did not deem them OF sufficient
importance to be exhibited as trophies
ii victory over former enemy,
bur presented them TO the sol
der o whom they had been
SURRENDERED The south has manifested
10 desire 10 have possession Of the flags
lost in bSttle. Their value departed
when they were surrendered, and the eX-
citement which has been created over the
proposition to return both to the north
end the south The flags they had lost in
battle seems very ike i tempest in tea
pot. Whether they should lie and be
consumed by moths in boxes Of the
United States War office, or be returned
to their former owners, has but one ele-
ment Of value, which is that the restors-
tion would be declaration such as the
old Romans made, that there should be
no triumphs for victory won by civil war.
SO far as it should express the feeling of
restored fraternity it would be an ad-
vance towards that condition which all
reasonable men will recognize as desirable
among those who are to live together"